​China to shut down last Beijing coal power plant in 2016

The Chinese authorities plan to shut the last coal-fired power plant in Beijing and replace it with gas-fired plants in 2016 in order to reduce the critical levels of pollution in the city.

Beijing authorities intend to stop the China Huaneng Group
845-megawatt coal power plant in 2016, according to the city’s
economic planning agency.

Last week, the city closed the plants owned by local Guohua
Electric Power Corp. and Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co. In
2014 the authorities shut down the fourth major coal powered
plant owned by China’s Datang Corp.

Coal-fired power plants will be replaced by four gas-fired with
at least double the capacity says the agency.

By 2017 the Beijing authorities plan to reduce coal consumption
by 13 million metric tons from 2012 levels in order to reduce the
poisonous concentration of pollutants in the air.

The level of air pollution in China was more
than double the national standard in 2014 with the indicators of
environmental pollution over the limit in 90 percent of 161
Chinese cities. The level of small particles that pose a danger
to human health, averaged 85.9 micrograms per cubic meter in 2014
in Beijing compared with the national standard of 35.

The closure of all large coal power plants in
the city would reduce annual coal consumption by 9.2 million
metric tons, Bloomberg reports citing Tian Miao, analyst at North
Square Blue Oak Ltd in Beijing. The emissions of carbon dioxide
in the air, in turn, would be reduced by roughly 30 million tons.

“Most pollutants come from burning coal, so the closure will
have a clear impact to reduce emissions,” Tian said.
“The replacement with natural gas will be much cleaner with
less pollution, though with a bit higher cost.”

The use of coal started slowing in China as the government made a
point of increasing the use of alternative energy sources, such
as hydroelectric power, solar and wind. The country is also about
to restart its nuclear power program. China aims to bring its
share of non-fossil energy to 15 percent by 2020 and 20 percent
by 2030.

Other measures the Beijing authorities plan to take to reduce
environmental pollution include the closure of air polluting
enterprises and the reduction of cement production.

China’s been suffering a pollution crisis for decades which has
left big cities shrouded in constant smog and half the
groundwater contaminated. The pollution from the coal industry
alone killed 670,000 people in China in 2012, according to last
year’s study by the Natural Resources Defense Council.